Bruce BassiFollow these weekly steps to prioritize essential tasks in setting up your own clinic.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- In the initial weeks, concentrate on tasks that will require a significant amount of time to yield results, such as insurance paneling. However, before you can do that, you need to have a registered business, email, phone number, and CAQH.
- Once you’ve submitted your information to insurance, shift your focus to networking and EHR systems, as these will take some time to refine.
- The final weeks are dedicated to fine-tuning your setup before attending to patients.
The Timeline for Starting Private Practice
You may have considered starting your own private practice but are unsure of what to expect and how long it will take. To help you avoid potential mistakes and get your private clinic up and running, we’ve provided a basic outline of the necessary steps. Use these tips alongside other resources on private practice advice. If you require additional guidance, consider enrolling in a course designed to lead you to success.
In this post, we’ll discuss the timeline for starting a private practice and what you should do in the first eight weeks.
Timeline breakdown:
Week 1:
Consult a lawyer, choose a name for your practice, register your address, hire a graphic designer, set up an email, obtain a phone number, and ensure your licensure is in order.
Week 2
Select a website template, apply for an EIN, obtain your NPI, register with CAQH, create a Google My Business profile, and submit your paneling application.
Week 3
Develop your website, try out EHR demos, and start building your professional network.
Week 4
Open a business bank account, hire a bookkeeper, purchase malpractice insurance, and create consent forms for your private practice.
Week 5
Set up your EHR system, including ePrescribing, scheduling, and claims management.
Week 6
Establish a payroll system, finalize your website, and continue networking within your industry.
Week 7
Engage a billing service, ensure your business remains compliant with relevant regulations.
Week 8
Focus on building your SEO, expand your professional network, and begin doing in person appointments or online visits.
By following this eight-week plan, you’ll be well on your way to launching a successful private practice, whether it’s a solo venture or a group practice.
Remember, starting your own private practice as a private practice therapist or private counseling practice owner requires dedication and persistence. Being your own boss and owning your own business can be very rewarding.
Protect your personal assets by forming a professional limited liability company (PLLC), and be prepared to put in the necessary effort to see your practice thrive.
Week 1: Lawyer, Name, Registered Agent, Graphic Designer
In week one, you’re gonna want to find a lawyer, choose a name.
That could be a process where a lawyer guides you into choosing a name that is most appropriate for you in your situation. Then you’re going to want to submit articles of incorporation or organization, and the lawyer can help with that too.
You’re going to need to obtain a registered agent for your own practice. Often a lawyer office can serve as the registered agent.
You just have to find one who has that feature. And since you’re submitting all this documentation, you also have to choose an office space address, choose a phone system and choose an email system because your phone number and your email are going to be on all the paperwork that you submit.
I have more videos on how to choose a phone system and choose an email system and choose an EHR system.
Week one is assuming that you already have licensure. And licensure in the state that you’re gonna be practicing in.
And since this part takes a while, I would also suggest doing it in week one, and that’s starting to reach out to professional graphic designers to start on logos and start reviewing drafts.
Week 2: Website template, EIN, GMB, CAQH, EHR demos, submit info to insurance for paneling
In week two, you’re going to create a template for your website, reviewing and refining it to make sure it meets your therapy private practice’s needs.
Keep in mind that it will be difficult to change the website in the future, so choose a fast host system that will help you immensely with SEO.
Be sure to update your office space address, phone number, and other contact details on your website, as this will also aid in SEO.
In addition to establishing your online presence, you’ll need to think about building a sustainable private practice. This means considering aspects like disability insurance & liability insurance to protect yourself and your business in the event you’re unable to work. Factor these business expenses into your business plan.
Since you’ve already submitted to the Secretary of State, you’re going to obtain an EIN or TIN number. You’ll also need to obtain an NPI number.
To get your insurance paneling started as quickly as possible, set up CAQH, which is the first step in getting paneled. This process can take several months, so it’s important to begin early.
Lastly, create a Google My Business profile, as it will appear on your website and help with local search results. Don’t forget to obtain professional portraits to showcase yourself on your website and create a personal connection with prospective clients.
Week 3: Finalizing website base content, organizing professional network
And that’s gonna lead us into week three, which is finalizing content to the website. You can always add more material later on.
This week, another big one is that you’re going to demo EHR systems. This can take a while. It can be very overwhelming, so it’s going to be a big chunk of week three.
I would also suggest that you organize your professional network since they could potentially send you patients in the future, and they want to know that you have a practice open if they trust you.
Week 4: Business bank account, malpractice
Now we’re in week four, obtain a business bank account. Some of them give you a credit for opening a business checking account.
You’re going to need to find a bookkeeper. If you delay finding a bookkeeper, they’ll most likely charge you a catch up fee anyway.
While you’re looking, you can also start thinking about an accountant, but you don’t need an accountant just yet.
You’re also going to need malpractice insurance, and you can get that started and start talking to other people about who they use for their malpractice insurance.
I would also suggest starting to develop your consent forms for patients and using a template of what other people have used and then modify them to your needs.
You can also start putting your intake forms in your EHR system. If you want to use charm, let me know.
I am a registered authorized reseller of the Charm EHR system.
And while you have free time in week four, add more content to your website such as what you treat, what your background is, and a couple of blog posts.
Week 5: Finish setup of EHR system
In week five. You’re gonna finish up a lot of the setup of your EHR system, such as your quick text, e-prescribing, scheduling, claim submission, and your clearing house that you need to have. It would also help to use a form system to collect information, such as Jotform.
That is a lot of work there and you’re also gonna be waiting for insurance to come back. they might ask you some clarifying questions about your private practice.
Week 6: Payroll
In week six, you’re going to sign up for a payroll system if you’re an S corp. If you don’t know what that is, then talk to an accountant.
You also wanna start reaching out to your professional network and developing your website more. Consider joining professional directories such as Psychology Today to help find prospective clients.
What is an LLC vs S-corp? LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a type of business structure that offers personal liability protection to its owners, known as members, while also allowing for flexibility in management and taxation. An S-Corp (S Corporation) is a special type of corporation that gets to avoid paying federal income tax and instead, the income, deductions, and credits flow through to shareholders, who report this information on their individual tax returns. An S-Corp requires payroll even if you are a sole private practice owner.
Week 7: Billing service
In week seven, you’re going to decide on a billing service in which one you’re going to use. You’re also going to want to run through a telehealth checklist to make sure that you’re not missing anything. I have a checklist on my website if you’re interested.
You’re also going to want to write down and put in your calendar any dates needed for quarterly taxes, annual reports, and an annual meeting to stay in compliance as a business entity.
What does a billing service do? Billing services for private practices typically handle all aspects of the medical billing process, from submitting claims to insurance companies to following up on denied or unpaid claims. They use software to accurately track and manage patient billing information, and also provide timely and effective communication with patients and insurance companies to resolve any billing issues. By outsourcing the billing process, private practices can reduce the burden of administrative work and ensure a steady flow of revenue, allowing them to focus on providing high-quality patient care. As far as business expenses go, this is one well worth spending money on.
Week 8: Run through checklists, improve SEO, see clients
Finally, in week eight, you can start seeing patients continue to build your SEO, network as much as possible, and develop a reputation management strategy so that way you can showcase all of your strengths to new incoming patients.
If you don’t showcase your strengths, people don’t know what you have to offer, and you’re most likely not reaching your potential with new patients.
I hope this video was helpful to give you an eight week timeline for what to do to start preparing before you see patients.
There’s a lot here, and maybe it’s gonna differ a little bit for you, but this is a general gist of what you need to do in the first eight weeks.
If you’re interested, I have a course on how to prepare you for starting a private practice. Take a look at my website. Or you can subscribe to this channel and I’ll keep pushing out more videos like this in the future.
Thank you so much for watching.
My name is Bruce Bassi and I’m a psychiatrist in private practice, and I love to make educational videos to encourage other people to start a private practice like I did.
